Brighter Paths
by UnromanticPoetess
Summary: Part 4 in the Darker Shades Universe, after "A Darker Shade of Green," "Spells and Illusions," and "Darker Shades." Tommy has lost his powers. Lord Zedd has suffered his first major defeat. Jason, Trini, and Zack are preparing to leave. Kimberly is still dealing with her foray into evil. Billy is just trying to hold the team together. Can the Power Rangers even survive?


Author's Notes: The story half a year in coming… Sorry for the long delay. I needed to take a break in fanfiction to focus on other things, but I'm back. Hopefully I haven't lost my touch. As I've said before, this will cover Power Rangers season 2 (the rest of it, at least) and season 3. I try to incorporate all major plot points, but I like to put my own twist on things. The long-awaited blog guide to my Darker Shades universe should be out sometime this month, so there will be a place to look things up if you are lost.

I want to thank everyone who has been patient with me, all my wonderful, long-time reviewers, the new readers who have been popping up over the past few months… and my beta reader Jimmy. None of this would be happening without all you guys.

* * *

**Brighter Paths**

**Book 1: New Light**

**Chapter 1: Blue**

Billy walked into the library, his arms full of books. He frowned in irritation at the lack of empty workspace. Upcoming final exams had assured that the school library was now the reluctant hub of activity for the entire school. It lacked the silence and solitude that made it such an attractive location for Billy most of the time.

He smiled as he spotted one occupied table. Creeping up, he dropped the books on the table as heavily as possible next to Tommy's sleeping head.

Tommy jolted awake. "Yeah, Zordon. What…" He blinked his eyes blearily, finally focusing on Billy. "The hell, dude?"

"I couldn't resist," Billy said, taking a glance around to see if anyone had heard Tommy's slip about Zordon. He frowned as he sat down. "Are you okay? The last time you were falling asleep at school…"

"The Green Candle has nothing on final exams," Tommy said breezily. "Right. Biology next? If I make good enough on this, I can take Chemistry in the summer and get caught up with the rest of you this fall."

Billy could have hit himself. Not only did he bring up a particularly painful part of Tommy's recent history—when he lost his powers the first time—he had also reminded them both that Tommy had lost his powers a second time, this time for good. Tommy now no longer had the Green power coin, which he said he had lost in another dimension, but it had been drained completely of power, and he had even given away all the power Zordon had given him, used it to reset the world a whole two weeks, to make everyone forget that Lord Zedd had ruled Angel Grove for an entire fortnight.

But if Tommy was hurt by Billy's statement, he wasn't showing it. In fact, Tommy had been uncharacteristically optimistic for the past month, especially considering the fact that the last time he'd lost his powers he'd skipped town. No, Tommy was neither morose nor prone to buying bus tickets. He just seemed constantly tired, which Billy had been attributing to Tommy's new focus on schoolwork.

"This test should actually be pretty easy," Tommy said brightly. "I mean, it's human biology, and I learned the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems early on from mom. I'm pretty used to this stuff." He frowned. "Math's a whole nuther issue."

"You'll be fine," Billy said, retreading long-worn assurances. "We've gone over this stuff."

"Of course we have," Tommy said dully. "And then everything seems to slip right out of my brain right after I learn it." He began packing up. "I can't get anything done now. School's almost over, anyway."

"Youth Center?" Billy said. "It can't be any worse studying there than it is here."

Tommy shouldered his very full backpack. "Sorry. Maybe next time. I promised Zordon I'd help him out with something," he said, his voice a little lower. "See you tonight. Tell Sylvia I probably won't be in for dinner? I'll just grab a sandwich somewhere."

"Sure..." Billy said, his eyes narrowing. "What does Zordon need your help with? I can possibly assist."

"No idea," Tommy said. "Didn't seem like a braniac project... you know, since he needs me and all. See ya."

Tommy walked out, probably looking for an empty room where he could teleport. Billy started stacking his books, hurrying when he saw people impatiently waiting for the table. He shoved the ones he could in his backpack and carried the rest. He'd stow a few that he didn't immediately need in his locker.

Tommy had been doing that a lot, Billy mused. Between the vague excuses, distracted attitude, and unexplained absences, he acted like he was hiding a secret identity from Billy and everyone else.

But that was a thing of the past. While they still hid their identities from the world at large, all of their immediate families now knew who they were. The days of lying to his mother were now officially over, and it was a relief... Just as it was a relief that the rest of Angel Grove had forgotten the true identities of the Power Rangers. Billy remembered what it was like when they'd been forced to show their identities. People had treated them... differently. Like they weren't human, or like they were some sort of authority figures. Their parents had gotten used to the idea, and still treated them normally... somewhat. It was still a relief to have that particular memory erased from people's brains.

"No, they'd never fall for it. We gotta think bigger than that."

Billy realized he'd walked outside without noticing. The school lawn was packed with students setting up for the Spring Festival. Angel Grove High usually threw a pretty big celebration at the end of the year, but this year it was massive, as they were going to play host to representatives from the International Youth Leadership Council. Mr. Kaplan had been storming around the school all week, trying to get everything ready before they arrived.

Bulk and Skull were oblivious to the fact that they were taking up a picnic table that the planning committee desperately needed. The picnic table was covered with brightly-colored diagrams. Billy craned his neck to glance at the work. They couldn't be studying, it was against their genetic makeup.

Bulk looked up sharply and jerked the top paper out of Billy's line of vision. "What do you want, nerrrr...?" He stopped, looking conflicted even in his anger. Ever since the party (and forgetting that Billy was the Blue Ranger), Bulk and Skull had treated Billy with a sort of defensive respect.

"Nothing, sorry," Billy said, backing off. Even though he wasn't getting picked on anymore, this was a new kind of horrible. The clone he'd created, who had terrorized his friends and commandeered the party Billy had been planning, had done something to Bulk and Skull as well. Billy had decided not to ask, partially because he couldn't figure out how to ask in the first place, and partially because he didn't want to know.

Bulk and Skull watched him suspiciously as he backed off, and then went back to their heated discussion.

"They've been at it since the free period started."

Billy realized he'd almost backed into Trini, who had gently grabbed his shoulders to prevent that.

"Any idea what they're doing?" he said.

"None whatsoever," Trini said. "It needs a lot of planning, though. And it's definitely not about final exams."

"Speaking of a lot of planning," Billy said, glancing around. The school's front yard had been transformed into part-carnival, part-display for the Leadership Council. The representatives would be giving a presentation the next day, followed by relay races and games. Trini had added her own artistic flair to it, with paper lanterns in the trees, colored banners everywhere, and flags and images to represent each of the countries and cultures of the Leadership Council representatives. The school looked so far from a refugee camp, as it had been in the two-weeks-that-never-were, that it was easy for Billy to actually believe the two weeks had never happened.

"It looks good," Billy said.

"We're still looking for volunteers," Trini said, a heavy hint in her voice.

Billy smiled. "I promised Kimberly I'd give her house security another test."

"Where is she? I didn't see her today."

Billy remembered a time when Trini and Kimberly knew exactly where the other was at all times. Now... they weren't openly hostile toward each other, but they didn't seem to actually spend any time together, either.

"She called in sick," Billy said. "She's not, of course, but today wasn't a big day, and I collected all the study guides for her."

"That's... that's great," Trini said. "I've been so swamped with this thing, I barely have any time to study."

"Yeah, you and Zack... and Jason... have been keeping pretty busy with the spring festival."

Trini averted her eyes. It was a pretty open secret that she and Zack had been keeping busy doing more than planning for a spring festival. Billy reminded himself that he was okay with that.

"So..." Trini said with an air of changing the subject, "do you think he'll target the Leadership Council speech or the karate tournament?"

"Hard to say," Billy said, knowing immediately who "he" was. A big event, especially one the Rangers were invested in, was always a target for Zedd, and Rita before him. "We've drilled on what to do if either get disrupted... or both... but it's not like he's been at the top of his game."

"No, not since..." Trini shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I have to get these work orders to Ernie. He's doing most of the catering for the festival."

"I can take them. I'm going to the Youth Center anyway."

"Thought you were going to Kimberly's."

"After that," Billy covered, not wanting to admit he'd just used Kimberly as an excuse to get out of decorating and lifting heavy things.

"Well, if you see Jason and Zack there, could you tell them that I expected them right after school?"

"Affirmative," Billy said.

The Youth Center was just as packed as the high school, what with the team ninja tournament in the works. Already fighters were congregating there, getting the feel of the fighting area. It was getting to the point that if Ernie wanted to keep hosting events, he was going to have to get a bigger space.

Billy pushed his way through the crowd to the bar. Ernie was there, giving orders to some of his staff with a sort of wild, panicked look that almost made Billy run the other way. Then he thought of what Trini would say if he didn't give Ernie the work orders, braced himself, and tapped Ernie on the shoulder.

"Yes, Billy, what?" Ernie said, having broken off mid-sentence. Ernie wiped sweat from his face with a napkin.

"These are from Trini," Billy said in a small voice, handing him the orders.

Ernie took them. He glanced at the numerous pieces of paper. His eyes bugged out, and Billy wondered if his head were literally going to explode. With an obvious effort, though, he calmed down and said, "Okay, guys, change of plans. Richie, I need you to make a store run..."

"If you need any help with equipment efficiency, I can..." Billy started.

"NO!" Ernie said, and then smiled. "Thanks, Billy, but... I don't think my kitchen can take too many more of your... adjustments."

Billy left the harassed juice bar owner to his catastrophes, knowing there was some justice to his refusal. Though, to be fair, they hadn't actually needed to call the fire department for the last explosion.

Sure enough, Jason and Zack were sitting at the edge of the railing that separated the bar area from the gym. They were watching the fighters intently.

"I still don't understand why you didn't enter the competition," Billy said by way of greeting. "Isn't this usually what you do? Jas, I don't think there's a karate tournament you haven't joined in three years."

"This is a ninja tournament," Jason corrected. "It's different. And it's a team competition."

"Of three," Billy pointed out. "You guys and either Tommy or Trini could have made the team."

"Yeah, well..." Zack grinned. "We've been busy... with... you know... the Leadership Council thing."

Jason looked at him sharply, and then forced a smile. "Oh, yeah. Spring festival."

"You mean that thing that Trini is helping organize right this second?" Billy pointed out.

"We came here to bring Ernie the work orders," Zack said.

"I brought the work orders," Billy pointed out.

Zack's eyes widened, and he looked in his bag. "Crap. We're in trouble."

Jason laughed. "You're in trouble, you mean."

"You wanna bet?" Zack said. "No, seriously, we gotta go. Like, right now."

Billy watched them leave, arguing the entire way. They didn't even seem to notice the fighters around them anymore. He decided to leave as well. Being alone with so many fighters was not exactly conducive to studying. He decided to just go home. He'd be able to concentrate better there, anyway, and then pick up some of his projects. He needed to run a few ideas by Zordon... if he could ever catch Zordon when he wasn't busy.

"Hey... Billy, right?"

Billy stopped and felt his stomach clench. It was Rocky DeSantos who had gotten his attention, with his friends Aisha Campbell and Adam Park at either side of him. He'd seen them twice after the time reset, but he still remembered the three vividly as the freedom fighters who'd protected Angel Grove when he and the other Power Rangers had been unable to do so. It was strange, knowing them as heroes when they had absolutely no memory of the events.

"Yes... Rocky?" Billy said, feigning unfamiliarity. "I didn't know you guys were visiting."

Rocky shrugged. "Just here for the festivities."

"And our parents are house shopping." Aisha added with a grin.

Billy smiled. "You decided to move here! That's great."

"Yeah..." Rocky said non-committally.

"We were hoping to run into Kimberly today," Adam said. "She sort of implied that she lived here."

Billy laughed. "Practically. But, no, she's sick at her real home today. I'll tell her you were asking for her."

"Thanks," Aisha said. "See ya later."

Billy hadn't been sure how to get out of that conversation, so he was grateful to Aisha for giving him an out. That kept him from awkwardly mumbling about having to be somewhere. He'd gotten better at talking to people in the last year, but something about talking to casual acquaintances still flummoxed him. Especially casual acquaintances he'd known as freedom fighters in an alternate reality.

Billy paused outside his house after walking home slowly. He considered visiting Kimberly, using a security check as an excuse. He was worried about her. She seemed fine... when she was around. She smiled, she occasionally cracked jokes, all the things she normally did. But she wasn't around much. At this point, Billy had a better social life than Kimberly. When she wasn't at school or doing Power Rangers business, she was in her room, or alone at the beach, or several other places Billy wasn't aware of unless he actually tracked her, and he wasn't going to do that. She wanted to be alone, and everyone seemed to be giving her her space.

"She's having one of those days, if you're wondering."

Kevin crossed the road, and Billy could see the school bus pulling away at the end of the block. "You think it would help if I..." Billy started.

Kevin snorted. "Frank's been trying. Mom's been trying. She doesn't want to hear it. She just... You'd think being a hero would be enough, you know?"

"Enough to get rid of guilt?" Billy finished Kevin's thought for him. "Not always. It just takes time."

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Well, while she's taking her time, it's depressing the heck out of everyone else." Kevin trudged across the street and disappeared into the house.

Billy considered following him, but his words about Kimberly had been far from encouraging. He instead walked into his empty lab, now more responsibly rebuilt after its former ransacking. After the clone incident, Alpha and Trini had dismantled his lab, taking out everything that might be dangerous. Now, though, it was back to its former glory. Zordon had even allowed him more access to previously-restricted information... under Zordon's guidance, of course.

A message was blinking on his computer, a message from Zordon approving his latest project proposal.

Grinning, Billy got to work.

* * *

"Just come in," Kimberly whispered to herself, her hand on the window. "You want to come over... just do it already."

Instead, Billy turned to his own house and disappeared. Kimbelry let her hand fall from the window, hanging listlessly next to her side.

She couldn't call him. Her hand was halfway to the telephone, but she pulled it back, sat back on the bed, and drew her knees up to her chest.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked herself for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Why can't I...?"

It was easy to be around Billy. Even easier than it was to be around Tommy. With Tommy, there were all these mixed-up feelings. Billy brought a certain stability to... well... everything.

She smiled to herself. And when had Billy become her best friend? All those years of her mother pushing her to the geeky boy next door.

But he was in his lab. And Tommy was probably studying, or at the Command Center. And the others... Everyone was busy.

Kimberly knew she should be busy. She should be studying for finals, or asking to rejoin all the organizations she'd dropped. She'd almost thought her mother's head would fall off when she told her she'd dropped cheerleading.

But it hurt to smile these days. And she wasn't going to go out if she didn't seem normal. Too many questions...

There was a soft knock on the door. Her mother's voice was hesitant. "Kim... I was just wondering if you were coming down to supper tonight, or..."

Kimberly let her legs drop. Her mother sounded like she was around a sick room. But she wasn't sick... was she?

"Yeah, I'll be down," Kimberly said, trying to make her voice sound bright.

"Good... that's good," her mother replied, and then retreated.

Kimberly let her face fall. It wasn't like she wasn't trying. That little effort was enough to attest to that. She was trying, but... something was still wrong. And when she tried to pretend it wasn't wrong, that just made it feel all the worse.

Tommy tried to help. He was the most understanding of them all, and for good reason. After all, Tommy had gone through what she had. He'd been evil. Hell, he still had these strange relationships with their enemies.

Kimberly shivered. That was something she didn't want. She'd gotten close enough to Lord Zedd, and now the thought of her time with him turned her stomach.

She made her way to the vanity. She hadn't put on makeup that day, and her face was pasty... sickly. But she wasn't sick. Zordon had run tests at her insistence. His words had been a little too understanding, and so Kimbelry hadn't brought it up again.

And Tommy... he was understanding, but he'd already been through this. He'd recovered, and Kimberly couldn't recall any time that Tommy had holed up in his room for days on end. Sure, he'd left town, but... In the end, he'd recovered far better than she was.

Kimbelry pursed her lips and started to put on makeup after washing the clammy sheen off her face. If she was going to pretend to be normal, she was going to do it right.

* * *

Tommy teleported into the Command Center to find it a wreck.

Coughing and shoving the panic down, he assessed the damage. It was far worse than what he'd done back in his evil days. Alpha was lying on the floor, his limbs pulled apart and only held together by stray wires. Consoles were uprooted, and Zordon's tube, while unbroken, was still horribly empty.

And there was movement. He crouched and did a visual sweep of the room. Seemingly empty, but that didn't mean there wasn't...

Gray. Gray room, gray Putties, and all they'd needed to do to camouflage themselves was remain quiet. The first warble launched Tommy across the room, careful to swing around and not get boxed in. There were so many, and he no longer had the protection of the power, but that didn't mean he couldn't handle them.

The first one knocked his communicator off his wrist, and Tommy bit back a curse. So much for calling for backup, which he should have done in the first place. The communicator was long gone now, though, so Tommy contented himself with fighting through the Putties so he'd be able to get to the auxiliary security panel at the other end of the room. No other warriors or monsters... just Putties, for now, but the Putties were more than enough. Realizing he had no hope of taking them all out, he allowed a Putty to throw him clear of the combat, thankfully in the right direction.

In the few seconds of confusion, Tommy keyed in the emergency protocols. There was a wave of energy, and in seconds all the Putties were on the floor. They glowed slightly, the energy wave having activated their self-destruct, and a forcefield contained the energy backlash.

Breathing hard, Tommy considered what to do next, when he felt the tingle of teleportation around him. He blinked as the Command Center, now completely undamaged, materialized around him.

"Your evaluation, Tommy?" Zordon said.

Tommy chuckled. It had been a while since Zordon had pulled one of these surprise drills on him. He remembered the first time he'd had to spend half an hour just to stop shaking. "Same problem, I guess. I let my fighting instincts take over without calling for backup."

"You realized your mistake quickly, but still too late," Zordon said. "Why is it important for you to call for backup?"

"Because I'm part of a team," Tommy said. "Therefore, I work better as a team than on my own. Even when I'm working on my own, I have to keep the team in mind." Tommy frowned. "So, this was just a drill. What would have happened if I had called the others?"

"I was ready to take care of that," Alpha chimed in.

"Tommy," Zordon got his attention back, "what was your second mistake?"

Tommy's eyes widened, then he looked down and thought. Zordon would let him take as much time as he needed to answer the question, so he didn't rush to any conclusions. He went over his actions carefully in his head.

"But..." Tommy frowned and looked up, "I didn't think the emergency vocal commands would be working."

"You didn't try, and they were," Zordon answered. "If it took you this long to answer my question, you didn't think about them in the first place."

Tommy smiled. "You're right, of course. So I didn't exactly get an A on this, did I?"

Zordon sighed. "You survived. That's the only grade that matters in the end. However, you unnecessarily risked your own life. Don't risk it all over a battle when you must fight the war."

Tommy smirked. "But you're still going to penalize me."

"Ten laps around the Command Center."

"Yes, sir."

"The outside of the Command Center."

Tommy groaned.

* * *

Bulk and Skull had finally vacated the picnic bench, jabbering something about a metal detector. Jason, Trini, and Zack slumped down on it, waiting for the rest to clear out of the way of Jason's car so they could go home. The sun was setting, they still had exams to prepare for… but the day's work had given a better satisfaction than they'd had in a long time.

"What are you going to do with your car?" Trini asked Jason. "Store it or sell it?"

Zack frowned. "I thought we weren't talking about… you know… leaving," he ended in a whisper.

Jason waved a hand. "Everyone's going to know soon enough. The announcement's at the end of the festival day after tomorrow." He sighed. "We can't put it off any more. We have to tell the others."

"I suppose you're right," Trini said. "Lord, I don't know how they're going to take it."

"Better if they hear it from us," Jason replied. "We've sort of been waiting for Kimberly to get better… but I'm not sure if that's going to happen in time."

Zack laughed bitterly. "Yeah, well, how exactly do you recover from that?"

Jason scratched the back of his head. "Plan is not to find out… but she's going to recover. It's just going to take time."

Trini got up and stretched. "Recovery… I wonder what this place would be like if everyone remembered. If everything that happened… happened."

"We wouldn't be able to leave, for one," Zack said. "Too many expectations. We'd be looked at as cowards, or deserters, for leaving."

Trini frowned. "Cowards for joining a mission of peace. I'm not sure I like that."

"We're not cowards, and we're not running away," Jason said for what he thought was the zillionth time. "We're… helping people in another way." He smiled. "It's funny… a ninja tournament and a peace festival going on at the same time. A year ago, we would be in the ninja tournament, no question. Now…"

The sun was turning a brilliant orange, the sky deepening blue and purple and stretching into blackness. They were alone, and there was no more reason to stay. They got up and walked to the car.

"Store it," Jason said.

"What?" Zack said.

Jason smiled. "I'm going to store my car, Trini. I'm not ready to give it up yet."

* * *

Goldar frowned at the screen. The Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers were heavily invested in some sort of festival, though he hadn't been able to monitor them closely, as the signal around the school area was jammed. The Blue Ranger was last seen entering the section of his house identified as his laboratory. The Pink Ranger was alone in her room, as usual. And Tommy was nowhere to be seen.

He gritted his teeth. It was the perfect time to attack. But there wasn't going to be an attack.

He shut off the viewscreen and began pacing the throne room. He'd had Finster install a screen for him, since Lord Zedd had a method of viewing Earth without relying on any device that Goldar could use. Lord Zedd hadn't protested. He hadn't even commented on the intrusion to his center of power. In fact, he'd barely left his bedchamber.

The war raged in other quadrants. The freelance and bounty hunter job boards on the international comm line were always full. Even common pirates like Divatox were gaining power to rival emperors'. And here, near Zordon, one of the most powerful forces in the galaxy, with his own personal defense team... all was silent. Peaceful. As if the war didn't even exist.

"This sucks," Goldar said to the empty throne room, and smiled. Something Scorpina would say.

He hadn't heard from Scorpina since she'd left, since she'd spared his life. She wasn't posted on any of the bounty hunter boards... but, then, she wasn't exactly looking for a bounty. He knew Scorpina was on the hunt for Empress Rita, and as such she would definitely be staying out of the news. There were plenty who would love to strike at Rita when she was powerless and defenseless, and Scorpina wouldn't want to advertise the fact that Rita needed rescue.

Goldar remembered when Rita had gone through a similar time of lethargy. After the death of Tommy's father, which had happened in her dungeon, she'd refrained from attacking the Power Rangers at all. She'd just been regaining her footing... when Lord Zedd had come to usurp her power, and Goldar had had to break her power in order to save her life, seemingly betraying her.

But it wasn't as if Lord Zedd wasn't attacking the Rangers at all, Goldar thought quickly, pushing thoughts of Rita firmly away. If they could be called attacks... Every week or so he'd choose an item at random and turn it into a monster. The Rangers would defeat it as a matter of course, but Lord Zedd didn't seem particularly upset when they failed. In fact, he seemed to only attack as a matter of habit. His heart, should the skinless lord have one under that exposed muscle, was not in the attacks.

In the meantime, the Rangers were bolstering their defenses. Jason, Trini, and Zack seemed more interested in their civilian lives at the moment, and Kimberly was wallowing in her own trauma, but Billy was definitely using the down time to their advantage. He'd strengthened their house security, and he was even starting to make attacking certain places in Angel Grove-the school and the Youth Center-much more difficult. Tommy disappeared for extended periods of time, which couldn't be good at all. It didn't seem right that a de-powered Power Ranger was spending more time at the Command Center than the actual Power Rangers. And who knew what Zordon was up to? Finster kept reporting spikes of power originating from the Command Center, and Goldar could only assume it was some new weapon or power source, one that might make a decisive shift to the balance of power.

And Goldar could do nothing. His pointed comments to Lord Zedd had come to naught. Goldar had started to think that something had broken him: the Rangers' defeat of him, losing Kimberly, Tommy attacking him, or possibly even Goldar confronting him... He wasn't the same overbearing lord he'd been when he'd taken over for Rita and consolidated his power all in one afternoon.

Footfalls sounded behind Goldar, and he turned to see Lord Zedd walking through the throne room to his bedchamber. Goldar hadn't even known he was elsewhere.

"My lord," Goldar said, and Lord Zedd paused in his progress. "My lord, I've been watching Earth, and I believe it may be a good time to attack."

Lord Zedd turned slowly, and Goldar started to feel that old intimidation he'd felt when Lord Zedd had first come to the Moon Palace. "Is it? What makes you say that?"

Goldar cleared his throat. "My lord, the Rangers are steadily consolidating their power, so a distraction might be advantageous. They are also planning a festival..."

Goldar trailed off as the room flashed red... a sure sign of Lord Zedd's impatience.

"A festival?" Lord Zedd said slowly. "A human gathering of celebration presents the greatest opportunity of attack? Why?"

"Well, my lord," Goldar shifted uncomfortably, "the Rangers will be distracted..."

"I thought you said that they needed a distraction."

Goldar gritted his teeth. "No all of them are distracted by this festival, my lord. The Blue Ranger..."

"Is doing what he always does, and will do it with more assiduity when we attack," Lord Zedd said.

"Zordon's up to something!" Goldar snapped. Heart hammering, he added, "my lord," as an afterthought.

Lord Zedd regarded him coldly. "You seem in the habit of making presumptions, warrior. You've made many... too many to count. But this one is not justified in the least. You say Zordon is up to something. Of course he is. He's an ages-old genius, fighting in a war practically as old as he is. He has plans upon plans upon plans, and that will not change just because we attack. Likewise, I know the dear departed Rita liked to plan her attacks around events in the teenagers' lives, but that just means they'll be all the more ready. All we'll achieve is ruining their good... distracting... time. Hardly the stuff with which wars are won."

With that, Lord Zedd turned and entered his chambers, leaving Goldar seething. Presumptuous, was he? He didn't know the half of it.

Goldar stormed out of the throne room. He almost took the wrong turn in his anger, but then he corrected himself. New throne room, new path to Finster's lab.

When he entered the brightly-lit lab, he was surprised to see Finster at his work station, clay already in hand.

"I was wondering when you'd take the initiative," Finster said in a resigned voice.

Goldar grinned. "You have a plan in mind?"

"I am not the warrior," he answered. "You are. I merely create the means for battle." He sighed. "You do realize Lord Zedd will kill us."

"Not with the plan I have," Goldar said. "We'll need to act quickly, too. Call up the fools and tell them they're needed... for something far more exciting than cleaning floors."

Finster set the clay down and flicked on the communication console. "That's just what I need: excitement. Much better than staying alive."

Goldar ignored Finster, instead pulling up Finster's databases. Something he remembered Empress Rita and Finster talking about long ago...

There it was. He pulled up the information on the potion and grinned. Finster looked over his shoulder.

"That's the basis of your monster," Goldar said, enjoying the stunned silence from the scientist. "That... and something that can give the Power Rangers to run after."

* * *

Tommy dragged himself out of the shower and threw on a t-shirt and shorts. His entire body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder, and he was starving. Something to eat before bed... well, before all the studying he had to do before sleeping.

Sylvia looked up at him from the kitchen table, a stack of papers in front of her and a mug of tea at her hand. She smiled wearily. "There's some leftover stew in the fridge. And please heat it up like a normal person."

Tommy grabbed a spoon and popped the top off the plastic bowl. He'd scarfed down three spoonfuls before he heard Sylvia sigh, "At least close the door to the fridge and sit down."

He poured himself some water and brought the stew over to the table. "Sorry I missed supper," he said. "I was..."

"Working on something with Zordon," Sylvia finished for him, handing him a napkin. "Is it something you can share?"

"Nothing you'd be interested in."

"I doubt that." Sylvia flipped over to the next paper, rolled her eyes, and marked something. "It's like it goes in one ear and out the other," she muttered to herself.

Tommy smirked.

"You're no better," Sylvia said. "Don't you find it interesting there's no beef in that stew?"

Tommy stared into the half-depleted bowl... and groaned. The groceries... "I'm sorry, Sylvia. I completely forgot."

Sylvia cast a worried look at him. "You've been doing that a lot lately. I mean, more than usual."

Tommy frowned. More people had been saying that to him lately, but he didn't seem any different. Of course, none of them knew the extra work he was taking on.

"I'll go to the grocery tomorrow, I promise." He paused. "And I can make another list."

He was interrupted by Billy, who came into the kitchen by the garage door. He had that slightly strained look of staring at a computer for too long.

"I was about to call you," Sylvia said. "It's high time both of you were in bed."

"Working on something?" Tommy asked as Billy grabbed a glass of milk from the kitchen.

"Nothing earth-shattering," Billy said. "At least, I don't think it is." He frowned. "You know, I really chafed at having to report everything to Zordon before, but it's turned out to be kind of a relief."

"I would have thought you... either of you... would have visited Kimberly today," Sylvia interjected.

Both looked down, not really wanting to meet her gaze.

"I almost did," Billy said. "But she missed school today. She was probably sick..."

"She's not sick," Sylvia said. "At least not in the conventional way."

Tommy's eye twitched. "I don't think she wants to see me."

"Oh, of course she does," Sylvia said. She began to gather her papers. "But it's not my place to force you. Just..." Sylvia sighed, closing her eyes. "If you let someone, they'll withdraw completely. We should all be familiar with that. Now get to bed, both of you."

Tommy left first, his stomach clenching in shame. He'd been throwing himself so much into this project... but that was an excuse.

The truth was, he'd thought when he'd turned back time, reset the world, that he'd fixed everything. But the world, for his friends, for their families, for himself... and definitely for Kimberly... was irrevocably changed. And even though he'd been through almost exactly what Kimberly had gone through, he didn't feel like he could understand her, or that she wanted him to understand.

Closing the door and shutting off all but his desk lamp next to his bed, he pulled out his notes. Not for math, or science, or English. It was a text Zordon had given him about the morphing grid... and he knew Zordon would test him on it the next day. Rubbing his face and shoving aside all other thoughts, he turned himself to a relatively simpler subject than what was going on in his own life.

* * *

Angel Grove slept, the fighting and festivals and preparations and studying all put away until the next day.

There was a glimmer, and two extraterrestrials materialized on a hill overlooking the town. It was out of the way... but also served as the perfect vantage point.

"We just set this doodad to going," Babboo said, "and they'll all be crazy by the morning."

"It'll match the Moon Palace, then," Squatt grumbled. "Everyone's crazy up there, too... including us."

The two disappeared, leaving a black box concealed in a bush. The black box gave three low beeps, and then let out a puff of steam. The gas that followed was completely invisible.


End file.
